Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
She barely refrained from shivering at the sound of that masterful voice that she was sure had been designed to taunt, intimidate, and arouse. Determined to ignore the effect he had on her, Shaya moved her attention to the cup he was holding out to her and wondered if he’d known she was a sucker for Starbucks coffee. “What flavor is it?”
“Caramel macchiato, of course.”
Yep, he’d known. And he thought buying her a cup of coffee would help even things out? Pfft. Still, it would be a shame to let the coffee go to waste. It would certainly be unreasonable to refuse to drink it based on the buyer. So she snatched it.
“You’re welcome.”
Feeling something lick her free hand, she jolted. Glancing down, she found a panting, playful-looking, tail-wagging Labrador. She’d been so transfixed by Nick that she hadn’t even sensed the dog…a dog that was now being happily stroked by Nick. She shot him a questioning look.
“Shaya, this is Bruce. Bruce, Shaya.”
“Bruce? He’s yours?”
He scratched the dog between his ears. “He was supposed to be my brother’s dog, but for some odd reason, he’s always followed me around. I’m better with animals than I am with people.” And he preferred animals to people, actually.
Frowning, she watched as Bruce scratched at the door of the large bus. Taking out a set of keys from his pocket, Nick unlocked it and the dog trotted inside.
“He’s a lazy shit. Likes to lie in front of the TV all day.”
“Wait, this bus is yours?”
“It’s a Winnebago,” he corrected, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. He wasn’t a touchy-feely person, but Shaya’s skin called to him. Seemingly of its own accord, his gaze flicked to her sensual lips. God, what a mouth. He wanted to taste it again. Thoroughly and commandingly. Then he would bite that bottom lip, mark it.
“A Winne-what?”
“A Winnebago.”
“Like the one in Meet the Fockers? Hang on, how can you drive this and the Mercedes?”
“It has a garage for the car. Whenever I want to stop off somewhere for a while, I park the motor home and then use my car to get around. Want a ride to work?”
Every hormone she had yelled, “Yes!” Lord, he was so gorgeous and masculine and alluring she could cry. But she couldn’t allow that to shake her resolve. “What I want is for you to leave. I made that pretty clear last night.”
“Did you really think I would?”
“No. I wouldn’t dare expect you to take my feelings into account.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re playing this little game.”
He pinned her gaze with his. “This isn’t a game to me, Shay. You said that you don’t trust me not to leave you again. As much as I hate that, I can understand. So it strikes me that I need to make sure you know I’m serious. I need to prove to you that I’m not leaving you. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
The words were so final, left no room for negotiation. Although she’d half expected him to pester her for a little while since dominant males didn’t drop matters easily, she hadn’t expected him to be so committed. Her wolf, who was becoming a real pain in the ass, liked that he had come to her and had every intention of claiming her. As such, she wasn’t particularly happy with Shaya for resisting him. Yeah, well, Shaya wasn’t particularly happy with Nick. “I don’t want you here.”
“A part of you does, Shay.” He’d sensed it, and he was so damn grateful for it. “It might be small, but it’s there. Beneath all your anger, there’s still a desire to make this work.”
He was right, the asshole. If he was just any guy, she might have been easily able to forget about him—after all, there were plenty more out there. But she only had one mate, and this was him; a part of her wanted him near and wanted to believe him. But hell would freeze over before she admitted it. “I have to get to work.” Before he could again offer to take her, she raised a hand. “I like to walk.”
“Suit yourself. Although I should point out that it looks like it’s going to start raining any second now.” He leaned back against the motor home and took a long sip of his coffee, ignoring the tap-tap-tapping of her foot.
When he made no move to drive off in his Winne-whatever-it-was-called, she counted to ten in her head, praying for patience. “Well…are you going to move this…thing?”
“Nope.”
Patience all gone. “Nick, seriously, you need to—”
“You’re going to be late for work if you don’t hurry.”
She glanced at her watch and cursed. “This and you had better be gone by the time I get home.” Nick simply shot her a lopsided smile. The guy was a menace. How the hell did you get through to someone who had selective hearing? No, actually, it wasn’t selective hearing. He heard and understood every single word; he just didn’t give a crap.